Interchanger turbine



INTERCHANGER TURBINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7. 1920.

1,420,626. PatentedJune27, 1922.

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HARVEY N. DAVI'sQ or CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, AsSIGNOR T RESEARCH COR-PORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

I} CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

INTERCHANGER TURBINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J n 27 1922 Application filed.Iuly 7, 1920. Serial No. 394546.

To all whom awa concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY N. DAv1s,'a citizen of the United States,residing at Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inInterchanger Turbines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for cooling air or other gaseousmixtures so as to condition them for liquefaction, or for separation byrectification or both.

Oneof the objects of the invention is to increase the effectiveness ofprocesses and apparatus such as referred to.

Another object is to simplify apparatus of the character involved andlessen the cost of construction and operation thereof.

The invention will be fully explained with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of one of themany possible dispositions and arrangements of apparatus embodying theinvention; and

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a part of the apparatus shownin Fig. 1.

The invention relates to those portions of I air-liquefaction ordistilling apparatus which are commonlv called fore-coolers,heat-exchangers or interchangers and to those associated devices whichare commonly called expansion engines,and more particularly to aninterchanger and a plurality of expansion engines arranged in accordancewith the principles fully set forth in my co-pending application Ser.No. 376,408 dated Apr. 24, 1920.

An interchanger of the type there described includes, as a rule, aplurality of passages for passing one or more streams of previouslycooled fluid in counter-current heat-exchanging relation with a streamor streams of fluid to be cooled.

In the above mentioned application it was explained that the operationof such an inter-changer willbe most effectix e only if all the streamsto be cooled have together at each level in the interchangersubstantially the same effective heat capacity as that of all coolingstreams, together, at the same level. and that this can best beaccomplished cooled by expanding with the performance of external work,and returned to an appropriate passage in the apparatus" at a pointwhere the temperature is substantially that of the expanded stream.

In the drawing 1 represents a channel or passage in an interchanger intothe warmer end of which there passes a stream of air or other gaseousmixture that it is desired to cool, the said stream being underpressure.

that if the pressure in passage 1 is sufficiently' high, and if theexpansion engines are sufficiently efficient, not only the coldestexpansion engine, but also one or more of those next warmer in theseries will produce in their respective streams drops in temperature sogreat that the exhausted gases will be partly liquefied, or at leastcooled substantially to the liquefaction point. The various streamsexhausted from these engines will not, then, differmaterially intemperature, although they may differ materially in quality or wetness.These exhausted streams may then be mixed together without materialthermodynamic disadvantage, and the combined stream may advantageouslybe conducted directly to the liquefying or rectifying apparatus withoutbeing returned to the interchanger at all.

Now, a turbine, and particularlya turbine of the DeLaval type consistingof a relatively small wheel running at a relatively great speed,isparticularly well adapted for the purpose of expanding gases or, inthis particular case, gaseous mixtures from the very high pressuresunder which they are put.

Onelof the chief advantages of this type of expansion engine is that itis possible to combinein a single turbine wheel running in a singlecasing, several different expansion engines of the series contemplatedin my said application.

In the drawing 2 represents a turbine wheel running in a casing 3. Froma plurality of points a, b and c pipes 4, 5 and 6 The present inventionhinges on the fact lead to the turbine structure and through zles 8 andthe remaining still warmer engine of nozzles 9, all having in commonthe. same wheel 2.

The expanded fluids discharged from the different nozzles, afterimparting energy to the wheel, mingle indistinguishably in turbineexhaust passage 10.

It is obvious that as many expansion engines as may be desired can becombined in this way on a single wheel, .the rotation and frictionlosses of the machine being divided among the various engines of theseries in- V stead of being duplicated by the use of a plurality ofseparate engines as was heretofore the case.

Furthermore, a considerable increase in the number of-expansion enginesassociated with the colder portions of the interchanger can be made withvery little decrease in the efficienc of each, due to its small output,and wit comparatively little increase in the cost of construction of theapparatus.

It is thus possible to make a much more complete adjustment of theeffective heat capacity of the streams to be cooled remain-, ing in theinterchanger to equality with the effective heat capacity of the coolingstreams, than would be commercially practicable with any form ofconstruction that involved a mechanically distinct structure for eachexpansion engine.

In, the foregoing no attempt has been made to show an actual turbineconstruction since this is a matter of common knowledge and theapplication of the invention is a matter of course.

It is obvious that a combination turbine of this sort may well bedesigned with different nozzle-angles in the various groups of nozzles,or with different nozzle exit-. heights, or with both, so that eachexpansion engine may have, individually, as high an efficiency as theconditions of the design permit.

'1 claim:

1. In combination with an interchanger, a multiple turbine defining aplurality of separate expansion engines and means for feeding'saidengines from points of different temperature levels of the.interchanger.

2. In combination with an interchanger, a turbine and separate conduitsfor passing a plurality of streams at different tempera turbine andconduits for passing a plural- .ity of streams from different levelsalong a passage of theinterchanger to the tur-v bine wheel to act ondifferent parts thereof. 4. In combination with an interchanger,

a multiple turbine having a single wheeland different rou'ps of nozzlesdefining separate expansion engines, and conduits for passing aplurality of streams from different temperature levels of theinterchanger to the turbine, said conduits leading to separate nozzlesor groups of nozzles for expanding the said streams to substantially thesame pressure and for directing the said streams against differentportions of the turbine wheel.

5. The combination of an interchanger having a passage for gas underconsiderable pressure, to be cooled. in counter-current heat-exchangingrelation with a cool fluid. a turbine constructed to define a pluralityof separate expansion engines, and conduits for passing a plurality ofstreams from different levels of said passage to the said separateexpansion engines to be separately expanded.

6. The combination of an interchanger having a passage for gas underconsiderable pressure, to be cooled in counter-current heat-exchangingrelation with a coolfluid, a turbine constructed to define a pluralityof separate expansion engines having a common wheel. and conduits forpassing a plurality of streams from different levels of said passage tothe said separateexpansion engines to be separately expanded.

7. The combination of an interchanger havinga passage for gas underconsiderable pressure. to be cooled in counter-current heat-exchangingrelation wtih a cool fluid,

a turbine constructed to define a plurality of separate expansionengines having a common wheel and a common exhaust, and conduits forpassing a plurality of streams from different levels of said passage tothe said separate expansion engines to be separately expanded.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HALRVEY N. DAVIS.

